Parlour tricks

Watchdog probes police 'freebies' at Victoria's Secret

The raid on the massage parlour last Friday found under-age workers and evidence of police bribery.
The raid on the massage parlour last Friday found under-age workers and evidence of police bribery.

The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission has launched an investigation into freebies given to police by a local massage parlour.

PACC acting secretary general Kornthip Daroj said the agency has begun looking into documents seized from Victoria's Secret Massage during a Jan 12 raid to identify state officials who received special discounts from the establishment.

During the raid, authorities found records of police who visited the parlour and received free food, drinks and even free massage services.

Some officers were said to have been "100% sponsored" when they visited.

Documents seen by the media show the positions and units of law enforcement officials who visited the premises in October and September last year.

They include Wang Thonglang police, Crime Suppression Division police, Metropolitan Police Bureau police, Revenue Department district officials, anti-human trafficking police and immigration police.

The discounts and free services are believed to be bribes paid to the authorities.

Pol Lt Col Kornthip said a committee has been set up to identify the officers whose initials and positions appear on the parlour's guest list and summon them for questioning.

After the raid, five senior police officers at Wang Thonglang police station were transferred to inactive posts to ensure transparency in the investigation.

The five officers are the Wang Thonglang station chief, the deputy chief of investigations, the deputy chief for crime suppression, an investigating inspector and a crime suppression officer.

The raid was carried out by a joint task force led by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and local authorities following complaints that migrant and underage workers were allegedly forced to work as prostitutes there.

More than 100 women were rescued, most from neighbouring countries, and some with no ID cards.

Boonsap Amornratanasiri, 55, aka "Pa Kob," was arrested during the raid and is being detained after the Criminal Court denied him bail. Police say they had obtained more than 10 arrest warrants against him for alleged trafficking and procurement.

A source at the DSI said on Sunday they are trying to build a human trafficking case against those involved and hope the seized documents may help. However, the initials may not be good enough to prove wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Pol Col Kritsana Pattanacharoen, deputy police spokesman, said police are interviewing the women who were found in the parlour to determine if they were victims of trafficking.

He said the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) had ordered the immediate transfer of the five implicated officers at Wang Thonglang station.

However, when asked about the records of special discounts seized from the parlour, he said the MPB is waiting for the DSI to forward further information before considering what action to take.

He said the scandal should serve as a warning for local police to strictly enforce the laws in the areas under their jurisdiction. According to the DSI, the venue had lawful permission to operate but findings suggest that several women working there had been forced into prostitution.

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Vocabulary

  • bail: money that is given to a court when someone is allowed to stay out of prison until their trial. If they do not return for the trial, the court keeps the money  - เงินประกัน; การประกันตัว
  • bribe: money or a present given to someone so that they will help you doing something dishonest or illegal - สินบน
  • detained: kept in a place and not allowed to leave - กักตัว ควบคุมตัวหรือฝากขัง
  • determine: to officially find out or decide something - ตัดสินใจ  ชี้ขาด
  • implicated (verb): shown or suggested that someone is involved in wrongdoing - ถูกโยงใยถึง
  • inactive post: a job or position with no real responsibilities or duties -
  • initials (noun): the first letters of a person's name อักษรแรกของชื่อ - อักษรแรกของชื่อ
  • jurisdiction: a country or area in which a particular legal system operates - ขอบเขตอำนาจที่ศาลและกฏหมายควบคุมไปถึง
  • obtain: to get something that you want or need, especially by going through a process that is difficult - ได้มา, ได้รับ
  • premises: the buildings and land that a business or organisation uses - ที่ดินและสิ่งปลูกสร้าง
  • procurement: the process of buying supplies or equipment for a government department or company - การจัดซื้อวัสดุ เครื่องมือสำหรับบริษัท หรือหน่วยงานของรัฐ
  • prostitute: a person who has sex for money - โสเภณี, ผู้หญิงขายตัว
  • raid (noun): using force or legal authority to enter a place suddenly in order to arrest people or search for something such as illegal weapons or drugs - การเข้าตรวจค้น
  • scandal (noun): a situation in which people behave in a dishonest or immoral way that shocks people - เรื่องอื้อฉาว
  • seize (verb): to take control of by force or official power - ยึกครอง
  • summon: to officially order someone to come to a place - เรียกตัว
  • task force: a group of people who are brought together to do a particular job, or a large military group who have a military aim to achieve - คณะทำงานเฉพาะกิจ, กองกำลังเฉพาะกิจ
  • trafficking: dealing in illegal goods, like drugs, weapons or in illegally moving humans or animals from one place to another - การค้าสิ่งที่ผิดกฎหมาย
  • transparency: an honest way of doing things that allows other people to know exactly what you are doing - ความโปร่งใส
  • unit: a part of a company or organisation that carries out a particular function; a group of people who work or live together, especially for a particular purpose - หน่วย,กอง,กลุ่ม
  • warrant (noun): a legal document that is signed by a judge and gives the police authority to do something - หมาย
  • wrongdoing: breaking the law or doing something "wrong" - กระทำผิดศีลธรรม, ละเมิดกฎหมาย
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